Bartow Resigns as Alabama Birmingham Coach

Gene Bartow, who built the Alabama Birmingham basketball program from the ground floor to a 1982 NCAA quarterfinal appearance, has resigned after 17 years as the school’s only coach.

UAB president J. Claude Bennett made the announcement to surprised seniors gathered Monday night for an awards banquet.

Bartow’s son, 34-year-old UAB assistant Murry Bartow, will take over, said assistant sports information director Grant Shingleton.

Gene Bartow’s contract was scheduled to expire in October 1997. It’s unclear if he would go elsewhere or retire. A news conference was scheduled for today.

Bartow, 64, compiled a 365-204 record in 17 seasons at UAB, including a 14-12 record in 12 NCAA tournament appearances.

Bartow, who coached UCLA for two seasons after replacing John Wooden, has had only three losing seasons in his 34 years as a head coach. He is the 15th winningest coach in Division I basketball.

Just two weeks ago, Bartow said he was planning to stay in coaching.

“I’ve been in college work for 34 years and I hope to continue,” he said at the time. “I plan on coaching next fall.”

Said Shingleton: “There’s been a lot of rumblings about it, but we were never really sure when it would happen. It was a little surprising when it happened tonight.”

Bartow gained prominence in 1982, when the Blazers took their 25-6 record into the NCAA tournament and made it to the quarterfinals, where they lost to Louisville.

UAB is coming off a 16-14 season in which it tied for sixth in Conference USA and failed to earn a postseason tournament spot. The Blazers have not made a postseason appearance since 1994, when they lost to George Washington in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Bartow began his career as head coach at Central Missouri State in 1961. He moved to Valparaiso in 1964 and on to Memphis State in 1970. He spent one season at Illinois (1974-75) before succeeding Wooden at UCLA. He came to UAB in 1978 to build the school’s Division I program.

Murry Bartow takes over after seven years as an assistant.

He played at UAB from 1981 to 1985 and began coaching under Indiana’s Bob Knight in 1985.

He worked with the 1986-87 championship team before moving on to William & Mary, where he was an assistant coach and recruiting director.